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PY2BIL > ARNR 03.07.26 14:35l 348 Lines 15338 Bytes #54 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2540 for Friday, July 3rd
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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2540 for Friday, July 3rd, 2026
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2540 with a release date of Friday,
July 3rd, 2026 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
The following is a QST. Canada revisits its antenna and tower policies.
Could a "wall" of chemicals weaken solar storms in space? - and a global
registry begins verifying IDs for DMR. All this and more as Amateur Radio
Newsline Report Number 2540 comes your way right now.
**
BILLBOARD CART
**
CANADA REVIEWING POLICY ON ANTENNAS, TOWERS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Our top story this week takes us to Canada where the
federal agency is proposing changes to antenna and tower regulations
- changes that hams support, as we hear from Travis Lisk N3ILS.
TRAVIS: Ham radio operators are among the interested parties weighing
in with Canada's radio regulations agency, which is seeking comment until
the 16th of July on proposed changes to policies covering antennas and
towers. Radio Amateurs of Canada and the Federation of Radio Amateur
Clubs of Quebec have responded in support of many of the changes and
are pressing the agency known as Innovation, Science and Development
Canada to modify an existing rule concerning maximum antenna and tower
height. Current law requires consultation with local authorities when
antenna and tower heights are above 15-meters, or roughly 48 feet. The
two amateur radio groups have asked that the height threshold be raised
to 20 meters, or roughly 65 feet, to qualify for the exemption from consultation.
The joint RAC/RAQI position of support on the changes was explained recently
by Dave Goodwin, VE3KG, the RAC's regulatory affairs officer, in a YouTube
interview with Stuart Crawford VE9CF. Dave told Stuart that the added
height would [quote] "give us that much more latitude" [endquote] in
putting up antenna structures. He said that a new 20-meter threshold
would cover almost all amateurs.
In Canada, federal policy has final say on antennas, towers and related
structures but under current policy, local land-use authorities and neighbors
must still be informed. The amateur groups also asked for a decrease
in the size of the zone within which hams must respond to neighborsâ€Ö
concerns.
Dave told Stuart that although ISED [Eye Said] is proposing these and
many procedural changes primarily to make things easier for commercial
wireless services, the regulations and any benefits would apply to radio
amateurs as well. The RAC has been encouraging amateurs in Canada to
submit their feedback to the agency.
This is Travis Lisk N3ILS.
(WIA; OUT AND ABOUT WITH VE9CF)
**
RESEARCHERS CREATE SPACE 'WALL' TO WEAKEN SOLAR STORMS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Imagine, for a moment, if we could actually repel those
severe solar storms that knock out our ability to communicate? Researchers
at Boston University have already simulated that scenario - with success,
as we hear from Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
KENT: Researchers believe they have developed an effective line of defense
against geomagnetic storms that would protect radio communications, GPS
systems, electrical grids and satellites from disruption. It's not quite
a vaccination against storms, but it provides what the scientists are
calling a bold line of defense. The system, known as StormWall, has emerged
from research and computer simulations by a Boston University team led
by associate engineering professor Brian Walsh.
Using computer modeling, the researchers said they have found a way to
fortify earth's natural magnetic defenses against geomagnetic storms
by deploying a half-dozen spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. The six
spacecraft would be used to release sodium, calcium, lithium, barium
and other materials into space for ionization by the sun, creating an
artificial cloud of electrically charged plasma. Writing in the journal
Space Weather, the team said that process would slow the storm's rate
of penetration into our planet's magnetic shield, reducing its power
by more than 50 percent.
StormWall, of course, resides only in theory at the moment but the researchers
believe it shows promise globally. They said the risk of contamination
from the released chemicals would be insignificant because solar wind
would disperse the material within several hours, preventing any entry
into the Earth's atmosphere.
This is Kent Peterson KCØDGY.
(SPACE.COM, AMSAT NEWS)
**
HOMECOMING FOR COLLECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
SKEETER/ANCHOR: The Collective Communications Group, established four
years ago in Ireland, has just celebrated a homecoming that was years
in the making. Dave Lee M9TLB tells us about it.
DAVE: A radio shack overlooking Ballyscanlon Lake has been transformed
into a new home for the Collective Communications Group which has served
as a radio family for four years for hams, citizens band operators and
PMR 446 enthusiasts.
Having a new address means it's going to be a busy season for the 73-member
group. Its radio room is set up near space used by the 35th Copper Coast
Scout Group. The scouts and the radio club have enjoyed an ongoing relationship
since their earliest Jamboree on the Air together -- and the scouts,
who are learning radio and basic electronics from their new neighbours,
can expect to start using the ham shack under supervision.
The club was organised by John Tubritt EI3HQB in 2022 in Kilmurrin Cove,
Waterford with the help of Wayne EI7HKB and shortwave listener Alex EI1895.
John told Newsline that they operated out of Wayne's van until they were
able to obtain and renovate a mobile shack complete with solar setup
and full kitchen.
Having a dedicated club house overlooking the lake is an important step
forward. John told Newsline [quote] "We have great plans for the future
with youth in our hobby." [endquote]
To join the opening-day party for the new clubhouse, visit the group's
YouTube channel, Collective Communications EI3CC.
This is Dave Lee M9TLB.
(STEVEN WRIGHT, EI5DD; JOHN TUBRITT, EI3HQB)
**
GLOBAL REGISTRY BEGINS VERIFICATION OF DMR IDS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: As DMR radio grows more popular each year, the registry
in charge of users' ID numbers has launched a verification process that
it hopes will ultimately avoid a shortage of available numbers. Jeremy
Boot G4NJH explains.
JEREMY: Faced with managing a finite universe of digital radio ID numbers,
the global registry RadioID dot net (RadioID.net) has begun contacting
users to verify their assigned IDs. An announcement on the registry's
website said that the verification process, which began on the 1st of
July, is expected to lead to the deactivation of ID numbers for account
holders who do not respond to emails sent to them annually on the anniversary
of an account's creation.
Ultimately, deactivated IDs will be marked for removal from the database
and will then become available for reassignment to new users.
For more details about the process, read the community notice posted
at RadioID dot net (RadioID.net)
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(RADIOID.NET)
**
FCC'S $3.5 BILLION SPECTRUM AUCTION IS 1ST IN FOUR YEARS
SKEETER/ANCHOR: The FCC held its first spectrum auction in four years
and Jack Parker W8ISH is here to tell us about it.
JACK: With an estimated 800 MHz of spectrum earmarked for auction by
2034 by the Federal Communications Commission, the agency recently completed
its first auction in four years. According to news reports, the total
value of the bids exceeded $3.5 billion.
The offering was for four licenses in three major US cities - two in
Chicago and one each in Boston and New York. The competitive bidding
that concluded on the 23rd of June was designed to ensure commercial
use for these parts of the spectrum. The frequencies are part of the
Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS-3, bands used by the major mobile
carriers.
The agency is now preparing to accept bids next year for at least 100
MHz in the Upper C-Band, from 3.98 GHz to 4.2 GHz.
This is Jack Parker W8ISH.
(BROADBAND BREAKFAST.COM)
**
BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur
Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including
the WDØHWT repeater of the Metro Area Repeater Association in White Bear
Lake, Minnesota, on Sunday evenings at 7.
**
NETS OF NOTE: THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN REPEATER GROUP
SKEETER/ANCHOR: As part of our occasional series, Nets of Note, Newsline
looks at nets in different parts of the world that are helping to unite
the amateur radio community. This week, Graham Kemp VK4BB gives us a
look at a startup net in South Australia.
GRAHAM: A growing group of radio operators in South Australia has been
finding its voice on the Adelaide Linked Repeater Network. The South
Australian Repeater Group launched its weekly net on the 17th of June
and is hoping to attract increasing numbers of hams to the Wednesday
net as the group itself continues to grow beyond its current membership
of 50. Check-ins begin at 20:00 hours local time -- that's 10:30 hours
UTC
The repeater group has also established a webpage at SARG.AU where it
hopes to provide information about group activities to members and prospective
members.
One of its related projects is the update of its Meshcore Repeaters throughout
the Adelaide Plains and the Fleurieu Peninsula. According to the website,
this repeater network will provide even more backup if disaster strikes
and compromises the communications infrastructure.
For more details about the net or the repeater group's plans, visit sarg.au
and click on the link at the top of the page that says "CONTACT US."
This is Graham Kemp VK4BB.
(WIA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA REPEATER GROUP)
**
MAUI'S FIELD DAY COMBINES RADIO WITH RECRUITMENT
SKEETER/ANCHOR: Like so many radio amateurs around the US and Canada,
hams taking part in ARRL Field Day at the University of Hawaii's Maui
College were demonstrating off-the-grid emergency preparedness and showing
the public what ham radio is all about. In Maui, however, the hams added
something more to the agenda for about eight hours on Saturday. John
Williams VK4JJW explains.
JOHN: ARRL Field Day wasn't the only thing in the air on the weekend
of June 27th and 28th in the Pacific region. Hurricane season was also
on its way. So the customary demonstrations of ham radio operations that
licensed operators provide to the public during the annual ARRL Field
Day took on a new purpose - recruitment - as the Maui hams worked hard
to build a more robust emergency communications network to serve the
region in the months ahead.
While amateurs made an extra effort to connect with other hams so they
could fill their logs and have a respectable score at the end of the
24-hour event, hams like Bill Heyde, KH6UU, coordinator of Maui County
Amateur Radio Emergency Services, were also busy making contacts with
visitors who were not yet hams - but showed an interest in getting a
license. Bill told the Hawaii News that he's been licensed since 1982
and so when hurricane Iwa [PRON: EE-VAH] struck later that year, he understood
well the value of emergency communications.
That's a lesson he hopes will have been passed on by Field Day 2026 on
Maui.
The US National Weather Service expects the central Pacific basin to
experience an above-normal hurricane season, which runs through the 30th
of November.
This is John Williams VK4JJW.
(HAWAII NEWS NOW, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the World of DX, Aldir, PY1SAD is on the air as 8R1TM from Guyana
until the 26th of July. He is using CW, SSB and the digital modes on
160-6 metres and will also be operating via satellite from 23:00 to 03:00
UTC during the week, and for longer periods during the weekends.
Listen for the special callsign DLØSOP until the 31st of July. Operators
are calling CW for the Sea of Peace Award made available by the DARC.
Kou, JP1IHD, will be on the air as JD1BQP from Chichijima [CHEE CHEE
JEE MUH], IOTA Number AS-031, until the 11th of July.
For operating and QSL details about any of these stations, see QRZ.com
Meanwhile, if you're planning to chase any of the stations competing
in the World Radiosport Team Championship you may qualify for one of
the competition's chaser awards. Awards will be given for contacts made
between the 11th of July at 1200 UTC and the 12th of July at 1159 UTC.
Chasers may work each WRTC station once per band and mode. For details
see the link in the text version of this week's newscast at arnewsline.org
[DO NOT READ: https://www.wrtc2026.org/wrtc-2026-competition-awards/]
(425 DX BULLETIN, WRTC)
**
KICKER: IN THE UK, BBC LONGWAVE WAVES FAREWELL
SKEETER/ANCHOR: After more than 90 years, BBC Radio 4 went silent on
its longwave frequency of 198 kHz on the 27th of June. Although listeners
in the UK and parts of Europe are surely missing such broadcasts as the
test match specials and the shipping forecasts, amateur radio operators'
fondness goes deeper than that, as we hear from Jeremy Boot G4NJH, in
this week's final story.
JEREMY: You can still hear BBC Radio 4 programs on FM radio, DAB digital
platforms, where the sounds are clearer and do not suffer from any of
longwave's notorious noise. To amateur radio operators, however, the
scratchy sound emanating around the Droitwich transmitting station's
signal was part of the long wave station's charm.
Preparing for the loss, hams at the Radio Society of Great Britain and
the BBC Amateur Radio Group activated special event stations during the
week leading up to the final shutdown.
Appearing on BBC One's morning TV show, BBC Breakfast, the RSGB's Nick
Totterdell, G4FAL, told the programme hosts that it was the older technology's
ability to function reliably that appealed to so many radio amateurs.
Nick said that many hams would, for example, use the longwave transmissions'
precise frequency as a frequency reference when they were building test
equipment.
To hams, BBC Radio 4 was less about progress in the modern world than
endurance through the decades. The only thing that endures - for now
- on 198 kHz is silence.
This is Jeremy Boot G4NJH.
(BBC BREAKFAST)
**
NEWSCAST CLOSE
With thanks to Amateur Radio Daily, AMSAT News; ARRL; BBC Breakfast;
Broadband Breakfast; Collective Communications; David Behar, K7DB; 425DX
News; Hawaii News Now; John Tubritt EI3HQB; National Weather Service;
Out and About with VE9CF; QRZ.com; RadioID.net; shortwaveradio.de; South
Australia Repeater Group. Space.com; Steven Wright EI5DD; Wireless Institute
of Australia; World Radiosport Team Championship; and you our listeners,
that's all from the Amateur Radio Newsline. We remind our listeners that
Amateur Radio Newsline is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that
incurs expenses for its continued operation. If you wish to support us,
please visit our website at arnewsline.org and know that we appreciate
you all. We also remind our listeners that if you like our newscast,
please leave us a 5-star rating wherever you subscribe to us.
For now, with Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT at the news desk in New York, and
our news team worldwide, I'm Skeeter Nash N5ASH in Jonesboro Arkansas
saying 73. As always we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm)
is Copyright 2026. Amateur Radio Newsline retains ownership of its material
even when retransmitted elsewhere. All rights are reserved.
73 de Bill, PY2BIL
PY2BIL@PY2BIL.SP.BRA.SOAM
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